Seasonal Cuisine

Craft a menu for your wedding that takes advantage of seasonal specialties

By Tiesha Whatley

Photo by iStockphoto.com

Planning a seasonal wedding gives you the opportunity to add seasonal details into every aspect of your wedding day. Not only can the season help dictate wedding flowers and colors, but also the menu that you serve to your guests. Think about which foods work best with your seasonal wedding theme.

Food for All Seasons

Your menu shouldn't be entirely based on the season; certain foods work with just about any season. All meats -- chicken, beef or fish -- work well. And salads, potatoes, and vegetables are all staples that work any time of the year. However, the date and venue of your wedding might dictate how these ingredients are prepared.

Spring

Spring is a symbol of new or fresh ideas. Baby asparagus, baby carrots, new potatoes, strawberries, mangoes, apricots and carrot cake are commonly thought of for the spring wedding menu. Light sorbets, chilled ceviche, and light salads that take advantage of seasonal ingredients are also great for this time of year.

Summer

Summer is optimum for fresh fruits and vegetables. People also associate summertime with barbecue, so anything that you might grill -- from fresh fish to prime steaks to vegetable kabobs -- works wonderfully. Plus, you can incorporate traditional summer fixins, like potato salad, macaroni salad, or corn on the cob. For dessert, you can offer a cobbler that uses fresh summer produce.

Autumn

Autumn lends itself to beautiful fall vegetables, such as turnips, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts and beets. The purple, yellow, green, and orange colors of these vegetables tend to fit perfectly with rustic fall themes.

Winter

Winter weddings are perfect for special wintertime treats to your menu, such as hot chocolate or eggnog. Many like to round out a winter wedding menu with squash or pumpkin side dishes and an all-white wedding cake. The chill of winter lends itself to heavy and warm side dishes, like mushroom risotto or mashed potatoes.